Matt. 28:16-20 | 2/24/2019. Our pastor exhorts us to recognize our identity "in Christ" - that is, as people saved by Jesus. This identity should drive us to work hard toward accomplishing the mission that He has given us.

Various Scriptures | 2/10/2019 | Matt Jones. Jesus said we would be torn between worshiping God and worshiping wealth. How ought we to respond to God's grace with our finances? Pastor Matt gives us a theology of offering in worship for God's people.

1 Corinthians 9:23-27 | 2/3/2019 | Matt Jones. Just as elite athletes train themselves to compete for the ultimate prize, we followers of Christ ought to train ourselves - spiritually, mentally, and yes, even physically - to excel for the sake of the Good News of the Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:3-7 | 1/27/2019 | Matt Jones. Have you heard and believed in the gospel - that Christ died for sinners (that's you!)? Have you received Christ and the forgiveness of sins? Have you been baptized as a believer in Christ?

1 Corinthians 16:1-23 | 1/20/2019 | Matt Jones. Babies in the womb are living human beings. This fact is both affirmed by the Bible and confirmed by science. They deserve our utmost efforts to protect them.

Rev. 21:1-27 | 1/13/2019 | Matt Jones. When all is said and done, God will create an all-new heavens and all-new earth. Those who are reconciled to God in Christ will enjoy this new creation. What are the implications?

2 Cor. 5:14-21 | 1/6/2019 | Tony Shen. In the new year of 2019, we ought to recognize our status as new creations made by God in Christ, and our new identity in Christ. The first step is to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and the second step is to recognize one's identity in Christ.

Rev. 12:1-17 | 12/30/2018 | Matt Jones. An Apocalyptic Advent - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Part 5 of 5. Pastor Matt's Christmas series concludes with the fulfillment of the Good News - that there is the certainty of hope for God's elect, and that the earth will be renewed with Jesus' victory over the great red dragon, Satan. Therefore we Christians should be confident, bold, and courageous in spreading the Good News, because ultimate victory is assured!

Rev. 12:12-17 | 12/23/2018 | Matt Jones. An Apocalyptic Advent - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Part 4 of 5. The dragon (Satan) continues to attempt to thwart the plans of God by attacking the woman (Israel) and her son (Jesus) and the rest of her children (the people of Israel). But angels and the earth itself will help protect the woman and her children from the great red dragon.

Rev. 12:7-12 | 12/16/2018 | Matt Jones. An Apocalyptic Advent - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Part 3. In this fascinating sermon, Pastor Matt shows us from the Old and New Testaments how Satan, the "great red dragon" of Revelation 12, has historically worked to undermine and pervert humankind, including sending demons to possess humans and create demonic offspring. But the Eternal Son, Jesus, will defeat him.

Rev. 12:1-6 | 12/9/2018 | Matt Jones. An Apocalyptic Advent - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Part 2. Who is the great red dragon of Revelation 12, and why does he have seven heads and ten horns? Who is the woman and her son?

Rev. 1-12 | 12/2/2018 | Matt Jones. An Apocalyptic Advent - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Part 1. A dragon hunting a mother and baby? Pastor Matt begins an unusual - but biblically accurate - Christmas series based on the 12th chapter of Revelation.

Various Scriptures | 11/4/2018 | Matt Jones. Over one quarter of the Bible when it was written was prophecy - the foretelling by God through chosen men of God's plan and design for history. Much of it has been fulfilled, particularly in the person of Jesus the Messiah. Much of it is still to be enacted - but enacted it will be.

Romans 1 | 10/28/2018 | Pastor Matt Jones. What does the Bible really say about sinful man, about itself as the Word of God as our highest authority, and about a righteous God who both punishes sin but also graciously offers the Gospel of forgiveness through Jesus Christ? That is what the Reformation was all about, which we commemorate each year on Reformation Sunday.

Selections from Romans | 10/21/2018 | Pastor Matt Jones. Pastor Matt preaches the gospel: there is a God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is a problem: sin, death, and penalty. And there is a solution: Jesus takes our sin.

1 John 4:1-6 | Part 5 | 9/30/2018. Brian Criscuolo shows us that the Apostle John was very concerned that Christians believe true things about Jesus Christ. John spoke against false teachers of his day - just as we should be wary of false teachers in our day.

Hebrews 10:19-25 | 7/15/2018 | Matt Jones. Readiness is crucial for experience, life, and worship. The New Testament calls us to prepare and have a ready heart of worship for the church gathering. The Old Testament is concerned with worshippers coming to the temple ready for corporate worship.

Psalm 63. Pastor Bobby Scott of Community of Faith Bible Church teaches us that the Word of God in Psalm 63 reveals three convictions that will anchor you through life's hardest storms, if you let them embrace you.

Luke 11:1-13 | Pastor Matthew Jones | 4/29/2018. Part 3 of 3. Pastor Matt teaches us from what is ordinarily called "The Lord's Prayer." It should really be called "The Disciples' Prayer," because Jesus taught His disciples that they should pray this way. The point is: God wants to hear from us and wants us to depend on Him for everything.

1 & 2 Corinthians | Pastor Matthew Jones | 4/22/2018. Part 2 of 3. Pastor Matt leads us through a survey of the letters to the church in Corinth, with a focus on our physical bodies and how God works through the weaknesses of our mortal flesh to glorify the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 35:9-14 | 4/15/2018. Part 1 of 3. Our pastor tells us of the joys of fasting - when denying oneself temporarily of earthly sustenance can remind us of our spiritual hunger and how only God can satisfy it.

John 20:30-21:25 | Easter 2018 | The Son: Eternity in History, Part 5 of 5. Pastor Matt concludes his Easter series going through the last chapter of the gospel of John. In it, the apostle reveals why he wrote the gospel: "these [proofs of Jesus' divinity] have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."

John 20:1-29 | Easter 2018 | The Son: Eternity in History, Part 4 of 5. On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this Easter message, Pastor Matt continues to show us from the gospel of John the historical account of Jesus' life, death, burial, and resurrection. He also explains how this message and this celebration has been twisted and distorted and misrepresented over the centuries, and the truth in which we can rejoice.

John 6-19 | Easter 2018 | The Son: Eternity in History, Part 2 of 5. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem prior to His death, burial, and resurrection. Pastor Matt leads us on a brief tour through several chapters of the gospel of John, showing the power of Jesus' preaching during His three-year earthly ministry, the plot of those who opposed Him, and His entry into Jerusalem to much fanfare.

John 1-5 | Easter 2018 | The Son: Eternity in History, Part 1 of 5. Easter is the most important and holy event of the year, when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, the Lord and Savior. Pastor Matt begins a short series about Easter by showing us man's need for a Savior who is both God and man. The Son, the second person of the triune God from all eternity, took on a human nature in order to live among us as God incarnate. Only in this unique way could He then later die as the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Rom. 10:14-21 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 23. In the 10th chapter of Romans, Paul explains to his Jew-Gentile audience the need for both people groups to come to Jesus for salvation. This brings up many issues such as the spread of the gospel among Gentiles and the Jewish rejection of Jesus the Messiah. Was it fair of God to do this? Paul argues from the Old Testament that yes, indeed, it was fair ... and God had given the Jews plenty of advance notice from Moses and the prophets.

Rom. 10:1-13 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 22. Pastor Matt continues the Romans series in this very important section of chapters 9 through 11. The Apostle Paul builds his argument from the Torah for righteousness based on faith, "for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." This righteousness by faith is available not only to Jewish believers in the Messiah, but to all Gentiles, "for there is no distinction...for the same Lord is Lord of all."

Rom. 9:22-33 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 21. Jewish Christian readers of Paul's letter to Romans evidently felt scandalized that God also showed mercy to Gentiles and extended the grace of salvation to them through Christ. So Paul demonstrates through many Old Testament passages that God always intended that Gentiles would be included in His plan of salvation - and that some Jews would not be.

Rom. 9:6-21 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 20. In this passage in the letter to the Romans, we learn once again that God alone reserves for Himself the power and prerogative to grant mercy and grace upon whomever He chooses. His will, not man's will nor man's deeds, is the only basis for His mercy. Objections? Paul anticipates them and answers them.

Rom. 9:1-5 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 19. Pastor Matt resumes his series on the epistle to the church in Rome, in an important section in chapters 9 through 11. God ordained the Jews to be chosen by Him to be His adopted children. But they have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. In these first few verses of chapter 9, the apostle Paul expresses his heart and sorrow for them, his people.

1 John 2:28-3:22 | Part 4. Brian Criscuolo teaches that one can have confidence in one's salvation if one has one's hope fixed on Jesus the Messiah as Lord. But one should be concerned if one practices sin and fails to show love to his brothers, for that is evidence that one has been deceived.

Hebrews 7:26-8:6. Atlas Hardy reminds us what Scripture has told us: that Christ is our great high priest. In the ancient nation of Israel, the priests represented the people to the Lord. Jesus now represents us, the church, but He is more qualified, His gift to God is better, He has a better place to minister than the Temple, and He mediates a better covenant than the old covenant given to Moses.

Deuteronomy 7:1-9. Guest preacher Tuvya Zaretsky of Jews for Jesus shows us from the Torah that the ancient nation of Israel was a people graciously chosen by Yahweh, the sovereign God of the universe. It was Yahweh's plan that salvation for all mankind would come through the nation and people of Israel, the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet Israel's sole purpose was not merely to give the world the Messiah. God's purposes for Israel have yet to be fulfilled in His plan of redemption.

Pastor Matt shows us the parallels between the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and the Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - in the Old Testament. We can only fully understand God's plan of salvation and redemption through Jesus the Messiah with an understanding of the covenants that God made with the nation of Israel, from Abraham to Moses.

Question 1 of the New City Catechism asks, "What is our only hope in life and death?" The answer: "That we are not our own, but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ." Throughout history, one of the main ways for the church to learn theological truths was to memorize questions and answers. Pastor Matt exhorts us to work through the 52 questions and answers of the New City Catechism during 2018.

The Christ Tree, Part 5 of 5. Over and over again in the Bible, we are commanded to be joyful, to rejoice. Yet we often hold a misunderstanding of the Christian life that we have to give up all the fun things; we don't properly understand the interplay of delight and duty. Today we learn that God made humans built for joy, that sin misguides its fulfillment, and that God desires that our joy by fulfilled in Him. That's why He sent Jesus to us.

The Christ Tree, Part 4 of 5. Continuing our Christmas series on John 15:1-11, we learn that the definition of love is "a commitment of the will to the true good of another." This is how God loves us. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Messiah or Savior. Jesus willingly took on this mission in order to seek and save the lost. In response, we not only love God, but we also love our fellow human beings.

The Christ Tree, Part 3 of 5. One of the most thought-provoking questions in Christianity is: can one lose one's salvation? To answer, Pastor Matt makes three points. There is security for those who abide in the vine, Jesus the Messiah. There is no security for the fruitless, because they have chosen to abide outside the vine and hence will be pruned. There is false security that many have, which Jesus and His gospel aim to expose.

The Christ Tree, Part 2 of 5. Jesus says, "He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit." What does it mean to bear fruit? Pastor Matt continues his Christmas series by explaining that bearing good fruit is to do good, following the commands of the Bible. Proving to be disciples of Jesus means that we love one another (John 15:8 and 13:34-35), and exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).

The Christ Tree, Part 1 of 5. In this Christmas series, Pastor Matt shows us from John 15:1-11 that Jesus (God the Son) is the true vine, that God the Father is the vine-keeper, and that believers in Jesus are the branches. Abiding in, or remaining in, the true vine is how we branches can bear fruit for God's glory, for others' good, and for our joy.

Rom. 8:31-39 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 18. The Apostle Paul concludes chapter 8 of his letter to the church in Rome by driving home the sovereignty of God, the sacrifice of the Christ to save unworthy sinners, and the strength God gives believers to persevere through persecutions and suffering. No one can undo what God has done! Praise God!

Rom. 8:26-30 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 17. In this sermon, we learn about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for believers when we don't know how to pray for ourselves; about how God is sovereign in the lives of believers, not only during our mortal lives on earth, but in fact before we were ever born, and into everlasting life.

Rom. 8:23-25 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 16. It's common to hear that "all people are children of God." By contrast, the bible teaches that we are all spiritual orphans and rebels against God. That is, until God the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts of our sin, leading us to recognize our need for God the Son as our Savior, leading to our adoption as sons by God the Father, with all the rights and privileges of inheritance therein. The hope of this great blessing to come helps us persevere through the suffering in this life.

Rom. 8:18-22 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 15. Present suffering but future glory. That's the promise offered to us as believers in Christ, who are set free from the power of sin, but who also will suffer for a period of time following the model of Jesus. Because of man's sin, creation is also suffering. But redemption and renewal are coming to carry us home.

On the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, Pastor Matt Jones helps us understand how the church of that era had lost the true gospel, how the true church has always been fighting for the preservation of the true gospel, and how we must continue fighting for the true gospel in today's culture.

Pastor Matt Jones teaches from 1 Thessalonians 5:11-28 about the attitudes, behaviors, and trust in the future return of Jesus Christ that are particularly encouraging, in light of Pastor Appreciation Month.

Brian Criscuolo shows us from the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the church that the God of the bible has always been on a mission to rescue His people. Those He has rescued are, in turn, called to reach out to the ends of the earth so that more people may be saved.

Omniscience. Knowing ALL things. Is it good news or bad news that God is omniscient? Professor Fred Sanders of Biola University shows us from Psalm 139 and elsewhere in Scripture that the answer is: both.

Our guest preacher P.J. Tibayan from Bethany Baptist Church in Bellflower, California, shares from Hebrews 3:12-19 how Christians ought to watch out for each other, encourage each other, and remember the danger that each of us is in.

Dr. Richard Bargas of Grace Baptist Church in Wilmington, California, preaches a message of the power of the gospel to disrupt communities, economies, and our very lives. This is why unbelievers have been enraged by the gospel message since biblical times to this day - and why Christians, as former unbelievers and enemies of God, need to let the gospel transform their lives - and their communities and economies.

Rom. 8:1-17 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 14. In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul writes that a person is either "in the flesh" or "in the Spirit." What does this mean? We learn that the unsaved unbeliever is "in the flesh," while the Christian is "in the Spirit." The Spirit and the flesh are not "in" the Christian. This is a crucial distinction with many implications for life.

Rom. 7:7-8:1 | Forever Changed: Romans sermon series, Part 13. Pastor Matt Jones teaches us from Romans 7 that the Law that God gave to the Jews was not the problem; sin is the problem. The Law also has no power over sin; only the ability to point out sin. The Law cannot take away sin; only the Messiah solves the problem of sin.

Our guest Dr. Vincent Bacote explains from Colossians 3:1-17 that, contrary to the saying, "He's too heavenly minded to be of earthly good," it is being properly heavenly minded that leads us to do the most earthly good.

1 John 2:18-2:27 | Part 3. Brian Criscuolo teaches that the apostle John was concerned in 2:18-27 about warning the church about false teachers and exhorting them to hold fast to the truth they have been taught.

1 John 1:1-4 | Part 1. Brian Criscuolo begins a sermon series explaining the first letter of the apostle John. In his introduction, John emphasizes the reality of Jesus and the priority of Christians to preach the gospel and make disciples.

Rev. 3:14-22 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 7 | Tony Shen. The Lord's letter to the church in Laodicea. Jesus is uncompromising with the people of this church, who were not actively against God, but neither were they on fire for Christ.

Rev. 3:7-13 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 6 | Tony Shen. The Lord's letter to the church in Philadelphia. God always spares His faithful people from punishment. In this letter, Jesus promises the church that they will be spared from the great tribulation to come - an encouragement, but also a warning, for the rest of us as well.

Rev. 3:1-6 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 5 | Tony Shen. The Lord's letter to the church in Sardis, which had let down its spiritual guard, much as the naturally well-defensible city had done in the past militarily, leading to its conquest.

Rev. 2:18-29 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 4 | Tony Shen. The Lord's letter to the church in Thyatira. Jesus admonishes this church, which was struggling with how to survive economically amidst a pagan business environment.

Rev. 2:8-11 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 2b | Tony Shen. The Lord's letter to the church in Smyrna regarding persecution; Polycarp's martyrdom; ISIS persecutes Christians today; we should pray for our enemies.

Rev. 2:8-11 | Jesus' Letters to the Churches in Revelation, Part 2a | Tony Shen. In His letter to the church at Smyrna, Jesus commends their faithfulness and urges them not to be afraid of the coming persecution that will test them.